When you were in school, did you sometimes wonder what you were studying had to do with “real life”?

The students at Notre Dame High School in Lawrence, Massachusetts (USA), and Cristo Rey High School in Sacramento, California (USA) experience firsthand what algebra, English, religion, and history have to do with earning a living. The two schools are part of the Cristo Rey network of schools. The Cristo Rey model, which originated with the Jesuit priests and brothers, combines in-class and on-the-job education in a unique college-preparatory program. The schools’ mission is to educate students who are academically able but could not otherwise afford to attend a Catholic school.

The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur sponsor Notre Dame High School and co-sponsor Cristo Rey High School. Both schools have Sisters of Notre Dame among the faculty and administration.

Each student at these schools shares one fulltime, entry-level job with three other students.  Students go to school four days a week and work the fifth, with their earnings going to the school to offset the cost of tuition. These funds cover 70 percent of the school’s operating expenses.

In addition to academic learning, the students are learning how to get along in the world of work. What is the appropriate way to dress on the job? How do you form cordial relationships with co-workers? What do you need to study in school in order to prepare yourself for a career?.

St. Julie Billiart, foundress of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, would call this kind of education “teaching them what they need for life.” Will you partner with us to give the gift of a Catholic high school education to these young men and women?